


Take a Bullet Straight Through My Brain:

by SRNOSMW



Series: Grenade [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Concerned Daichi, Concerned Derek, Concerned Ukai, Suga Centric, Suga hugs for everyone, basically everyone is concerned for suga here, like near hurt/comfort, sorta hurt/comfort, super suga centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28413903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SRNOSMW/pseuds/SRNOSMW
Summary: It was just a simple errand run for new markers, but of course, with Suga's luck, he'd end up in the store that was being held hostage by a fleeing robber. How was he supposed to explain to Daichi that this was the reason he was late to practice?
Relationships: Azumane Asahi & Sugawara Koushi, Hinata Shouyou & Sugawara Koushi, Kageyama Tobio & Sugawara Koushi, Nishinoya Yuu & Sugawara Koushi, Sawamura Daichi & Sugawara Koushi, Sugawara Koushi & Everyone, Sugawara Koushi & Takeda Ittetsu, Sugawara Koushi & Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Sugawara Koushi & Tsukishima Kei, Sugawara Koushi & Ukai Keishin, Sugawara Koushi & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Grenade [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081067
Comments: 3
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

BAM! The ball hit Suga’s arms with a satisfying sting. 

“Nice receive!” 

“Got it!” Noya shouted, setting the ball perfectly to Asahi. 

Suga watched as Asahi’s whole body tensed as he jumped and pounded the ball onto the other side of the net. 

Ukai blew his whistle.

“White teams wins.” 

“Yeah!” Tanaka and Noya screamed as Tsukki gave them his signature “tsk.”

“Wow!” Hinata breathed, “Asahi-senpai that was amazing!”

Suga smiled to himself as Asahi spluttered out thanks. Although he may be their terrifying ace on the court, off it, he was timider than a middle schooler. 

“Ok!” Sensei yelled, clapping his hands, jolting Suga out of his thoughts. “Let’s meet over here!”

“Yes sir!” 

Suga jogged over to his usual spot next to Daichi.

“Nice receive at the end,” He said, and Suga let out a beaming smile.

“You too.” 

“Not really. I should have gotten Asahi’s last few serves,” He replied, suddenly serious, and Suga frowned. Time for a change in strategy.

“Although you did end up losing in the end.”

“We just let you win this time,” Daichi said, sparkle returning to his eyes.

“Ah. So that’s why you’re so drenched in sweat.”

Daichi let out a laugh, and Suga gave himself a mental pat on the back.

“Oh yeah,” Suga said, snapping his fingers together, “I had an idea.”

“What is it?” Daichi said, serious again. 

“I’m going to tell you, idiot,” Suga said, hiding the small glow in his chest. Even if he wasn’t the official setter anymore, it felt good to have his ideas taken seriously.

Daichi remained silent, waiting.

“Seeing Hinata play today made me think that if we really polish up his receives, he could be useful even when he’s off the front row.”

Daichi frowned, and Suga hurried to explain.

“I mean with his speed and reflexes he may be able to reach the balls even Nishinoya can’t get.”

Daichi leaned back. “Hmm. That’s an interesting idea. We’ll have to worry about him getting too tired though.”

“Nevermind. It wasn’t the best--” 

“No, no, that’s not a bad idea.” Daichi said, waving his hand, “I’ll bring it up with Coach.”

“Right,” Ukai said, cutting off their conversation. “Time to talk strategy.”

Several moans rose from the team, mostly from Hinata and Tanaka.

Daichi’s grin turned to a smirk. “Good luck convincing him to practice receiving more.”

Suga let out a sigh.

“I suppose I can’t insist that it’s the captain’s duty to assign practice recommendations?”

“Nope. This is all you, vice-captain.”

“Hmmm. How about a wager?”

“I’m listening.”

“If you can get Hinata to practice receiving before I can, I’ll buy the pork buns tonight.”

“Deal.”

Suga braced himself for the back slap that he knew was coming, but still flinched at the impact. Daichi never held back with him.

“So as I was saying,” Ukai said, shooting the two of them a glare. “We’re going to talk about a new defensive strategy I want to try out.”

Suga felt the blood rush to his face.

“Sorry Coach,” Daichi said, also blushing.

“So, here’s the basic idea.” Ukai whipped out a marker and tried to draw a circle.

“Hmmm,” He muttered, trying a few more times before banging it on the board a few times, causing Yachi-kun to jump.

“Must be dead.” 

He tossed the dried-up marker into the bin and reached for another only to find it empty.

“Sensei,” He called, “Can we get some more markers here?”

“Of course!” Sensei said jumping at the opportunity to help. Kiyoko-san stepped forward to take the keys, but Sensei’s reach to his pocket became a frantic pat-down.

“I’m so sorry!” Sensei cried, bowing, “I must have left my keys in the office.”

“That’s fine,” Ukai said, rubbing the bridge of his nose like he did when he really wanted a smoke. He must have really wanted to discuss the strategy. “We’ll just have to wait till tomorrow.”

“Coach, I can go out and buy some new markers,” Suga said, standing.

“I can do that,” Kiyoko offered, turning to him, “You should stay here and practice.”

Suga gave her a grin.

“Thanks, but the store is pretty far. I brought my bike, so it won’t be that long.”  
  


“I can go!” Hinata said, jumping up, “I brought my bike too, and I can bike really fast!”

“Hinata,” Suga said, gently, “I think your receives could use a bit of work if that’s alright with you Coach.” 

“Besides,” The little voice in his head said, “It’s not like I’m going to be on the court long enough to make a difference.” 

Daichi shot him a frown.

Shoot. He had forgotten about Daichi’s uncanny ability to tell when those thoughts crossed his mind. Scratching his head, he grinned sheepishly, knowing he was going to get one hell of a lecture later. 

“Yeah,” Ukai said, bringing Suga back to the situation at hand, “Receiving practice is as good as anything.”

Suga shot Daichi a triumphant smirk who in turn gave him a silent slow clap. It looks like he wasn’t going to be paying for the pork buns tonight. 

“Suga you go to the store. We’ll practice until you get back.”

Hinata deflated, and Suga gave him a sympathetic pat on the head.

“Don’t worry Hinata-kun. If all works out, we may have another important role for you to play.”

“Really?” He said, perking up.

“Yep, but only if you get better at receiving.” 

“Ok! I’ll practice really hard, Sugawara-senpai!”

Suga gave him another pat, smiling at his enthusiasm.

“Suga-senpai!” Tanaka said, face grave, “Please hurry. If you don’t get back soon we’ll all be as good at receiving as Yuu-chan.” 

Tanaka and Hinata shuddered at the thought.

Suga shook his head at them, but ran outside and quickly hopped on his bike before biking away as fast he could. 

* * *

Panting, he arrived at the store 10 minutes later. He parked his bike before running into the store. 

“Sorry!” He called to the woman that he startled as he ran past.

“Markers, markers, markers,” He muttered to himself, “Where would they put--- Aha!” He held up a pack of dry-erase markers triumphantly. His celebration was cut short by the slam of the door and a yell.

“Hands in the air everyone!” 

Suga turned to see a masked man pointing a gun right at him. The markers fell from his grip and hit the floor.

“Looks like I’m going to be a bit later than expected.” He thought grimly.

* * *

The sweat-soaked brow and panting breaths made Suga suspect the man of running from someone, and the sounds of sirens slowly increasing in volume and the sack in the man’s right hand confirmed his suspicions. 

Suga froze, mind whirring in disbelief.

“Robber,” Suga heard the police say on a megaphone, “Please exit the store with both hands visible.”

“Don’t come in!” The man shouted, voice ragged, “I’ll shoot them. I swear I will!”

Suga felt his heart rate jump. His gaze flitted around the store. 2 older women, a middle-aged man, the store clerk, and, his eyes widened, a mother and her child. All within range. 

Taking a deep breath, he spoke up.

“Excuse me, sir,” The man’s gaze shot to him, and his grip tightened on the gun. 

“Don’t say anything, kid.”

Suga felt a brief surge of anger. He was basically a university student. He wasn’t a kid anymore.

“Sorry sir, I just really need to get back to volleyball practice.” Suga said keeping his eyes locked on the man and his voice steady, “You see my captain will be very upset if I don’t make it back in,” Suga brought his arm up to check his watch, “10 minutes.”

He cautiously took a step forward, feeling the eyes of everyone on him. The man tensed and kept the gun trained on Suga. 

“What are you doing?” He snarled, aiming the gun at Suga’s head, hands shaking. It would be an unsteady shot, but it was hard to miss at such a close range.

“I’m just going to stand over here now.” He said, side-stepping his way with both his hands up to a spot where the robber’s back was to everyone else.

If he kept the robber’s attention, maybe one of the others could take him by surprise. 

Still keeping eye contact and speaking as one would to a frightened child, Suga began again.

“I need to go to practice. Will you let us leave?”

The man stared at him, a desperate gleam in his eyes.

Suga studied him more closely. His clothing, while a little beat up seemed to be of good quality, and the gun he held was in pristine condition.

Why would someone like him need to rob a bank?

The man shifted his grip on the gun, jolting Suga out of his thoughts.

He tensed, ready to hit the floor if necessary. 

Holding his breath as the gun remained trained on him, Suga didn’t dare break their gazes. Slowly, the man’s eyes changed, and for a moment, Suga thought he had convinced him.

“Robber, we have you surrounded!”

Instantly, the animal-like fear returned. 

The man grabbed Suga and pressed the gun tightly to his temple. 

“That’s going to leave a bruise.” Suga thought, squinting at the searchlights shining directly in his eyes. 

“Don’t come any closer!” The man cried, “I’ll shoot!”

“Sir, excuse me for speaking,” Suga said, impressed by the stability in his voice, “but I don’t think whoever you’re doing this for would approve of this.”

The man’s eyes widened. So he had been right in guessing that this man wasn’t just someone wanting to get rich. 

“If I don’t, they’ll throw me in jail, and I can’t take care of her then.”

“If you _do_ do this, sir,” Suga said, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes “You won’t be able to take it back. Ever. Do you think she wants you to become a murderer?”

The man faltered. 

“I’m not…”

“Sir, if you put the gun down and return the money, you can come back from this. You can be there for her.”

The look in his eyes from earlier returned, and the man became quiet, fighting with himself. After a few minutes, the man looked up and ground the gun harder against Suga’s head. 

“Shut up,” He snarled, “If I kill you, they’ll have to take me seriously. Then I can help her. I can save her.”

“Release him” The officer ordered, “Just put the gun down, sir.”

The man’s face tensed. He had decided, and Suga closed his eyes. 

Maybe Daichi wouldn’t kill him after all. It’s pretty hard to kill someone with a bullet hole through their head.

BANG.

The pressure on his temple was released, and Suga fell to his knees. 

The man lay unconscious at his side.

Mind whirring, he looked up to see one of the older-women wielding her purse like a hammer. He turned and felt his heart stutter. A few inches away from where his head had been was a small, smoking hole.

“Are you alright?” The women asked, hands shaking. 

Suga got to his feet, feeling strangely numb.

“Yes, thank you, ma’am.”

“No, thank you. I would never have been able to do that if you hadn’t distracted him.” 

Distract. Was that all he was trying to do?

“How did you stay so calm?” The middle-aged man asked, voice quivering. 

“It helps when you’re terrified.” He replied causing a weak chuckle to go around the room.

The store clerk opened the door and the police rushed in, carefully sweeping the room and securing the robber.

“Are you alright, kid?” One asked, taking him by the arm. 

“I’m fine,” Suga said, walking to pick up his markers. He held them tightly, trying to keep his hands from shaking. “Now if you would excuse me, I have to go to practice after I buy these.”

“They’re on the house kid,” The clerk said, “Hell, I’ll pay for them.”

“Thank you very much!” Suga said, bowing to him before checking his watch.

“We still need to check up on you.”

Shoot. He had 15 minutes before practice was over. 

“Can you do it after practice?”

“That would be very---,” The officer stammered.

“Karasuno High School. We’ll be in Gymnasium #1.”

He saw the officer give him a slight nod before thanking the clerk again and running out to his bike.

“Kid, where do you think----” Another officer asked, approaching him.

“Sorry, I have practice! The officer inside knows where to find me.” 

* * *

He pedaled even faster than on his way there and arrived with 7 minutes to spare. When Suga arrived, however, they had already started to pack up.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” He said running in.

“Suga!” Ukai said, crossing his arms, “Thank you for finally joining us.”

“Sorry Coach, I got…” His voice faltered, “... lost.”

“Lost,” Daichi repeated, brow furrowing.

“Yeah,” He said, struggling to come up with a reasonable excuse.”I took a wrong turn somewhere and had a hard time figuring out where I was.” He gave what he hoped was more of a sheepish grin than a pained grimace. His temple was beginning to throb.

“I see,” Ukai said slowly, “I’ll send someone more familiar with the area next time.” 

“Yes sir,” Suga said bowing as he felt his cheeks redden. 

“Suga-senpai!” Hinata squeaked, “What happened to your head?”

The rest of the team looked up at this, as Suga touched the tender area and winced.

“Oh, this? It’s nothing.”

Ukai said nothing but grabbed Suga’s head, studying the bruise closer. 

“It doesn’t look like nothing. How does your head feel? Are you dizzy?”

“I’m fine, Coach.” He said, wrestling himself from Ukai’s grip, “I just ran into something on the way back. Can I go help clean up now?”

“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the nurse?” Sensei said, also taking Suga’s head into his own hands, although much more gently. “That can’t feel good.”

“It’s better than getting hit in the face with one of Asahi’s serves.”

“I’M SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” Asahi said, bowing so quickly that Suga was afraid that he was going to fall over.

Sensei laughed and let Suga go. 

“Ok, go help clean, but if you feel anything at all, tell us. We don’t want you to be benched for our next game.”

“Not like it matters,” Suga thought before meeting Daichi’s glare.

“Yes sir!” He said and quickly turned away to help collect balls.

* * *

They were just about finished when the door to the gym flew open. Suga quickly bent over, hiding his face when he recognized the officer talking to a very concerned Sensei. 

He glanced up for a second and made eye contact with him.

“Maybe he’ll just call me over?” Suga hoped. 

“Ah, there he is. How are you feeling kiddo?”

Shoot.

“Fine. Thank you.” Suga replied shortly, hoping that the officer would pick up on the fact that he didn’t want to talk about it here.

“Are you sure? No need to act tough. You were almost shot tonight.”

“What?” Ukai asked, voice becoming scarily soft. 

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” The officer said, looking uncomfortable. “There was an armed robber at the corner store, and the kid was used as a hostage.”

“You were what?” Daichi asked, his knuckles whitening on the broomstick.

The rest of the team flinched. 

“It’s not a big deal!” Suga said, not meeting his gaze.

“S--Su-Suga” Asahi stammered, “You-you were….” 

“Asahi, I’m fine. Look at me.”

“Su-Suga… are you--are-ar you--”

“I’m fine. Ok? Take a breath.”

“Well, I just need to get your testimony for the trial.” The officer broke in, looking even more uncomfortable.

Suga quickly walked past the team, watching him with mouths hanging open in disbelief. As he opened the door, he let out a sigh of relief, but he knew he was just delaying the inevitable. 

* * *

“Thank you for your time.” The officer said, snapping his notebook shut.

“Can I ask you something?” Suga asked.

The officer looked up at him.

“Yeah, kid. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. I’m still fine. The man who….” He hesitated, “who tried to shoot me. Did they ever figure out why he did it?”

“I’m not supposed to say.” The officer hesitated, “But if you promise to keep quiet about it…”

“I promise.”

“Turns out he had a young daughter who was sick with …. I forget what disease, but she needed a transplant badly, and well I’m sure you know how it goes.”

“He was going to buy an organ?”

“Yeah. Now, remember to keep this on the down-low. I could get in a lot of trouble if people found out what I told you.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Suga promised.

“Well, between you and me, kid, what you did today in that store was extremely brave.” The officer hesitated before patting him on the back, “Well done.”

The officer left as awkwardly as he came. As soon as he had gone, Suga went back into the gym to help mop the floor. 

* * *

“What… the hell… happened?” Suga looked up in surprise to see Sensei standing in front of him, eyes blazing.

“Uhh…When I went to the store, a guy with a gun came in and told up to put our hands up,” Suga said in a small voice, “I talked to him for a bit,”

“Wait,” Tanaka broke in, “You talked with the guy with a gun?” 

“Yeah, he wasn’t a bad guy. Well, besides the whole almost shooting me thing.”

“He tried to _shoot_ you?”

“Tanaka.” 

“He took me as a hostage and tried to shoot me until this lady knocked him out with her purse.”

Yachi squeaked, looking almost as if she were about to faint. Sensei didn’t look much better. 

“Sugawara Koushi,” Ukai said slowly, “Why didn’t you tell us what happened?”

“I’m sorry. It just… didn’t feel real.”

“Are you ok? Do you need anything? Oh my gosh. You were almost shot.” Sensei spluttered, “One of my students almost got shot.”

“Su--Suga,” Asahi stammered, taking Suga by his shoulders with hands shaking so badly that it felt as if he were shaking Suga as well, “you- you… gun”

“Sugawara-senpai,” Hinata cried, “Please don’t die!”

“Sugawara-senpai’s gonna die?”

“No! Suga!”

“Guys!” Suga finally shouted, “Enough! There is no need to overreact. Everything’s fine now.”

“No,” Daichi said, eyes blazing, “No, it’s not.”

The room fell silent. Even Sensei’s cries were silenced at Daichi’s terrible voice.

“You _lied_ to us about getting lost. You...you,” Daichi’s voice became a whisper, “you were almost…” 

The room went even quieter. 

Suga looked around at the faces around. It had actually happened. This wasn't a dream or something he dreamed up in his head during chemistry class. This was real and he had almost been shot, had almost been _killed._

Suga put a hand to his mouth and felt tears begin to pour down his face. 

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. The faces around him shifted from anger and worry to fear. 

He saw people’s mouths moving but heard nothing. He was on the floor although he didn’t know how he got there. 

His heart felt like it was going to tear itself from his chest as his body heaved with each breath.

He couldn’t breathe.

The gunshot played again and again in his mind. 

Was he dying?

His eyes searched for something, anything still to look at.

He met someone’s gaze.

Tsukki looked at him and calmly, slowly mouthed the words “Match my breathing.”

Suga laughed, a choking sound that caused a spark of frantic activity. 

Tsukki inhaled counting up to four on his fingers and Suga struggled to do the same. 

“Hold,” Tsukki said and Suga tried, but someone pulled him from his laying down position. 

Suga’s dilated pupils met Daichi’s frantic ones, and he felt his chest begin to heave again. 

“Hold on” Daichi was shouting, “Hold on, Suga. Help is on the way.”

A new pair of arms surrounded him and gently sat him so that he was staring directly into Tsukki’s eyes again. 

Suga closed his eyes.

Inhale.

One. Two. Three. Four

He opened his eyes.

Hold.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Exhale.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. 

Inhale.

Together with Tsukki, he partly slowed his erratic breathing.

Suddenly exhausted, he pitched forward, hitting Tsukki’s chest.

Sound suddenly returned to Suga’s world, loud and everywhere and _too much_.

“You did well,” Tsukki said softly in his ear.

“Is he alive?” Kageyama was asking as he heard Sensei’s frantic shouts in the background.

“Shut up all of you,” Tsukki ordered tightening his hold on Suga, and surprisingly, they all listened. Suga decided that Tsukki was his new favorite person in the whole world.

He kept breathing until he peeked under Tsukki’s arms to see Asahi’s terrified face looking back at him.

“Asa--Asah” He croaked.

“S-Su-Suga.” 

  
  


“Do..don’..t cry,” He managed, “yo..you wi..mp”

Tsukki smirked at this. 

Ukai and Sensei entered his line of sight. 

“Sugawara, there’s an ambulance here.” Ukai explained as Sensei was crying, “They’re going to take care of you.”

A new pair of faces joined. 

“We’re just going to give you something to relax you, ok?”

Suga tried to nod. He felt someone take his hand and turned his head to see Daichi sitting right next to him, apology forming on his lips. 

“Do..n’t y...ou ..d...ar..e,” He croaked. 

Daichi stopped, and looked away but not before Suga saw the tears there. 

He squeezed his hand, hoping to convey all the things he couldn’t get his throat to say, and Daichi squeezed back. 

He felt a stab in his arm and the world fade to black.

* * *

Daichi felt Suga’s grip slowly relax and had to suppress the growing panic inside him. 

“Sir, you need to let go of him,” One of the paramedics said, gently prying his hand off of Suga’s.

He watched, numb, as Tsukki carefully lifted Suga’s body into the arms of another paramedic. 

He looked so frail, so weak, almost as if he were….

No. Suga wasn’t dying. Still, his own breathing became ragged. 

“Do I need to teach you how to breathe too?” Tsukki asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daichi let out a sob-laugh. Tears were still coursing down his face. 

When Suga broke down, none of them knew what was going on. All Daichi saw was Suga, crying, and all of the angry words inside him disappeared, replaced with a fear one hundred times more intense, and when Suga hit the floor….

Daichi squeezed his eyes shut. 

“Pull it together Captain,” He thought, shaking his head, “Keep your head. Your team needs you now.”

Daichi wiped his eyes on his sleeves and stood up.

Ukai and Sensei were talking with the paramedics. Ukai had his arm around Sensei who was still crying. Daichi’s gaze floated back to Suga’s still, pale, face and he felt a growing urge to vomit. 

Daichi shook his head again. Not here. Not now.

“Coach,” Daichi said, voice raw, “What’s the plan?”

Ukai looked at him, and Daichi’s eyes widened. Ukai looked like he had aged 10 years in the past few minutes. 

“Sensei will ride with Sugawara to the hospital in the ambulance,” Ukai said, giving Sensei another pat which seemed to cause him to cry even harder. “The doctors say that the shock probably wore off here, so he’s not in any danger anymore. Still, they want to keep an eye on him.”

Daichi nodded, focusing his thoughts on the fact that the doctors said that Suga was going to be fine.

“And what about us?”

Ukai blinked.

“How are we going to get to the hospital?” 

Ukai frowned, almost as if he hadn’t expected Daichi to ask this.

“I guess I could take one of the buses…”

“Thank you,” Daichi said, bowing, “I’ll see who wants to come.”

He turned his gaze to the rest of the team and flinched.

Tanaka and Nishinoya were trying to get Asahi to calm down, but they both quieter than normal. Hinata was staring at the ambulance, tears also flowing down his face while Kageyama stood behind him, hand placed on his shoulder. Tsukki had his arm around Yamaguchi. 

Everyone looked pale and badly shaken. 

Daichi exhaled. One thing at a time. 

He kneeled next to Asahi, whose shoulders were still shaking. 

“Asahi,” Daichi murmured, wrapping an arm around him, “Can you hear me?”

Asahi gave a half-nod.

“He’s going to be fine, Asahi. The doctors say he’s going to be fine.”

“But what if--” Asahi started.

Daichi playfully shoved his shoulder. 

"What would he say if he was here right now?"

Asahi’s mouth twisted in a small smile.

“Negativity begone”

Daichi sat with him until Asahi’s shaking subsided. 

“How are you two?” He asked Nishinoya and Tanaka. 

“Fine,” Noya replied, looking away. 

“When are we leaving?” Tanaka asked.

“What?”

Tanaka clenched his fists.

“Idiot, when are we going to the hospital?”

This caught the rest of the team’s attention.

Daichi sighed, wishing more than ever Suga was with him now. He always knew what to say to get everyone to calm down.

“I’m taking a bus in 10 minutes,” Ukai said, placing a hand on Daichi’s shoulder. “Whoever wants to come can come. Still, try to keep the numbers down.”

“I’m going,” Asahi said, wiping his face on his practice shirt. “Daichi, I--”

“I know Asahi, you can come.”

“Daichi-senpai,” Hinata said, eyes blazing, “Please let me go!”

“Me too!” Kageyama added, bowing.

“Me too!” Yamaguchi said, joining in.

“Try and stop me,” Noya said, looking Daichi straight in the eye.

“Everyone calm down,” Tanaka said, surprising everyone, “There’s room enough for everyone, so everyone can come.”

Daichi nodded in agreement and gave Tanaka what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

“We shouldn’t bring too many though,” Tsukki finally spoke up, “We don’t want to overwhelm Sugawara-senpai.”

“We’ll deal with that when we get there. I’m sure the hospital has some sort of policy.” Ukai said, looking around, “Alright, who wants to come?”

Everyone raised their hand. 

Ukai sighed. 

“Alright, text your parents. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

* * *

When Suga woke up, he was no longer in his practice outfit which in itself raised questions. He was in a hospital gown with strange stickers placed on his chest and arms. Machines surrounded him, beeping at random times. But his gaze fell on the group of people sleeping around him.

The team had stayed the night for him. 

Suga tried in vain to stop the tears from flowing. A machine to his right began beeping rapidly causing Ukai to jolt awake. 

“Doctor!” He said, stumbling out of his chair before he saw Sugawara’s opened eyes. “Help…”

“You idiot,” He said tears forming in his eyes, “You damn near gave us a heart attack.”

“S-Sor-Sorry,” Sugawara managed. The beeping continued. 

“Yuu!” Tanaka groaned, “Turn off your alarm before I smash it.”

“It’s not mine!” Nishinoya said, opening his eyes, “And I swear if you break anoth--” His voice died down. 

“Sugawara-senpai!” He cried jumping at Suga. 

“Nishinoya!” Ukai snapped, “Careful.”

“Don’t scare us like that, moron,” Nishinoya mumbled into Suga’s chest.

“Sorry.”

“Ahhhhh, Sugawara-senpai,” Hinata cried flinging himself on the bed, joining Nishinoya, “You’re not going to die are you?”

Sugawara laughed despite his tears. 

“Alright, enough,” Ukai said, “Off, both of you.”

“Nooo,” Nishinoya moaned, snuggling closer.

“It’s fine. I’m not in any pain.” His gaze met another member’s. “But I may be if you join them.”

Asahi was also laugh-crying.

“Su--Suga!”

“I’m fine, you big softy.”

“Hinata! Get off Sugawara-senpai! Idiot!” 

“It’s fine Kageyama,” Suga replied, wiping his face with the sleeves of the hospital gown. “Do you want a hug too?”

“I don’t want to ---”

“Get in here Kageyama.”

Kageyama reluctantly bent down so Suga could hug him too.

“No need to worry,” Suga said reading his eyes, “I’m fine.”

“Tsk” Kageyama muttered, burying his face into Suga’s chest as well.

“How are you feeling?” Yamaguchi asked, flitting on the sides of his bed. 

“Great! Thanks to Dr. Tsukishima here.”

“Idiot. I didn’t do anything.”

“Still, I owe you a hug. Get in here.”

Tsukishima glared at him.

“No,” Hinata said, grabbing onto Suga, “There’s no more room for him.”

“There’s always room in a Suga-hug,” Tanaka said, stretching. “It’s a _Suga-_ hug.”

“Get in here, both of you.” Suga ordered, opening his arms, “You too Yamaguchi.”

“SUGAWARA!” Sensei cried, causing everyone to jump. “Are you ok? How do you feel? Do you need anything? Ukai-kun where’s the doctor?”

“Ah yes, the doctor.”

“Thank goodness. I couldn’t breathe in here with all the people.” Tsukki said, awkwardly clinging to Suga.

“Tsukki! You’re hogging him!” Nishinoya whined. “Suuuuuga!”

“Calm down, all of you.” Suga looked past the army of children gathered on his bed. “You can join too if you want.” 

Suga felt more air forced out of him as Asahi took him up on the offer. 

“Don’t _ever_ do that again.” He muttered.

“Yes, sir,”

“Agreed.” A new voice spoke up causing Tsukki to scramble to stand up, knocking off Yamaguchi in the process. 

“Captain,” 

Hinata and Kageyama also stumbled out of the hug.

“haHA!” Nishinoya cried, “You fools! Suga is all mine now.”

“Nishinoya,” Asahi said, warning in his voice.

“Fine, I’ll share.” He said very reluctantly climbing off the bed.

Suga had to look up to see Daichi which he thought was just cruel. He wasn’t that much shorter than him.

“You better never ever _ever_ do that ever again.”

“Daichi,” Suga sighed, “Don’t worry. This was a freak accident. I won’t leave you guys. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Good. I hope this finally drove that lesson through your thick skull.” Daichi said, kneeling next to him so that they were eye-to-eye, “No one can replace you, Sugawara Koushi.”

The group around him nodded their agreement. Daichi, riding on their support, spoke again.

“And you’re never going to a corner store during practice again.”

Suga pouted for a bit.

“Yes, Captain.”


	2. Catch a Grenade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most 18-year-olds worried about test scores or university applications or whether they had sports practice that day. Suga worried about all of these things, but he also had to worry about talking down a man who seemed determined to blow himself and Daketo up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was heavily inspired by the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "Casecation." Please enjoy!

“Sugawara?” A voice asked behind him, “Sugawara Koushi?”

Suga turned around to see…

“Inaba-Sensei?” 

His middle school librarian smiled and waved him over. 

“You guys go on ahead,” He said to Tanaka and Nishinoya who were looking back at him, “I’ll be there real soon.”

“You better,” Tanaka smirked, “Coach seemed more stressed than usual in the bus, so who knows how he’ll react if one of us goes missing”

“Yeah,” Nishinoya chimed in, “He might explode!”

Suga gave a light-hearted laugh at the mental image he was sure they had in their minds.

“And we have warmups before the match!” 

“I won’t miss them,” Suga promised. It wouldn’t matter anyway. He would have plenty of time to warm up on the bench.

Tanka frowned, and Suga swore he felt his heart stop. It seemed like Tanaka was picking up Daichi’s skill to tell when those thoughts crossed his mind. Tanaka gave him one last glance and continued on his way. 

* * *

“I can’t believe it,” Inaba-Sensei said, taking him by his shoulders, “Look at you! You’ve gotten so tall!”

Suga smiled, studying his old Sensei in turn. With some alarm, he noted the bags under his eyes and rumpled quality to his clothing.

“What on earth are you doing at Daketo this late? Didn’t you end up going to Karasuno?”

“We have a practice match with Daketo this evening,” Suga explained, trying to come up with a polite way to ask if he was ok. “A volleyball match, that is.”

“Ah, still at it I see.” Inaba-Sensei said with a grin, “I remember you always bugging the older boys to play with you. You did quite a lot of their homework if I recall correctly.”

Suga felt a slight blush color his face. It was true. Back then, he was a little more like Hinata, hungry to get his hands on the ball. He still felt the hunger inside him, but he had gotten better at suppressing it. 

The team came first anyway.

“So, when is this practice match?” 

Suga checked his watch.

“I’m so sorry!” He said, bowing, “I have to go!”

Inaba-Sensei laughed and wished him luck before turning around and walking to the main building.

* * *

Suga watched on the bench as the giant setter ran up the side of the court and leaped into the air. He blinked, there was something off about the approach. 

The setter turned and smacked the ball directly into Hinata’s face. 

Flinching in sympathy as Hinata went down, his eyes were drawn back to the setter’s awkward flailing as his momentum flew him forward into the net.

Suga watched in equal parts awe and horror as the net buckled and the strings holding it up snapped. The setter hit his face against the floor with a sickening thump.

Hearing the screech of the whistle, Suga flung himself out of his seat and ran to where Hinata lay, stunned on the floor. 

Kageyama had already helped him sit up and was sitting awkwardly beside him as blood rushed down Hinata’s face.

“Hinata?” Suga asked, gently putting a hand on his shoulder, “Hinata Shoyo!”

Hinata blinked, staying silent long enough to give Suga a mini-heart attack.

“Did we get the point?”

Daichi knelt next to him, shaking his head both in amusement and exasperation.

“No, boke,” Kageyama snapped, “If you’re going to insist on receiving the ball with your face, at least keep it in.”

Suga and Daichi shared a secret look. It looked like Kageyama was really worried.

“Well I didn’t see yo--”

“Hinata,” Ukai growled, killing any argument between the two. Taking his face between his hands, Ukai studied Hinata’s eyes.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Ukai said, turning Hinata’s face to the side, “But we need to get something to stop the bleeding?”

“Where’s Sensei?” Asahi asked joining their impromptu meeting.

“Guys,” Nishinoya hissed, “Get down on a knee.”

The group followed without question. Looking up, Suga saw exactly what made Nishinoya tell them to kneel. 

The giant setter was still lying limp on the floor. 

“Kogane?” The coach said, shaking him, “Koganegawa Kanji, can you hear me?”

Daketo’s captain gently knelt next to him as the rest of the team stood back, unsure of what to do.

Suga blinked and for a moment he saw Daichi, lying eerily still on the floor. Shaking his head, he turned back to Hinata and sneaked a glance at Daichi who gave him a puzzled, but comforting smile. He was fine. Suga reminded himself. Daichi was fine.

“I called an ambulance,” Sensei said, putting his phone away, “They’re on their way.”

A sob caused Suga to turn his attention to the sidelines. He saw Daketo’s manager standing by herself to the side, shoulders shaking with barely contained cries. Shimizu moved faster than he had ever seen her move before. In a flash, she was at the other manager’s side, wrapping her arms around the girl who in turn buried her face in Shimizu’s shoulder and burst into tears. 

Suga looked away again, feeling like he was intruding. Hinata’s nose was really bleeding quite badly, he noted with some concern.

“We need to get him an ice pack.” Ukai sighed, scratching his head. Suga watched his gaze flicker to Sensei helping the other team to Shimizu rubbing the back of the Daketo manager. 

“I’m fine Coach! I don’t even feel it!” Hinata said, springing up and wiping his nose on his sleeve.

Ignoring him, Ukai waved Yachi over who had been staring at the unconscious form of the setter, looking quite pale. 

“I need you to help Hinata find an ice pack. There should be some in the nurse's office here.”

“Y-Yes coach,” Yachi stammered, turning even paler. Suga frowned. Asking Yachi to help Hinata find an ice pack while he was actively bleeding in an unfamiliar school at dark was about the same as forcing a kindergartener to watch a horror film.

“I’ll take him, Coach,” Suga offered, “Kageyama doesn’t look like he’ll need a sub anytime soon, and I’ve been here before.”

Ukai sat in silence, eyes snapping back to the team gathered around Hinata as Yachi gave him a look so full of gratitude that tears began to form in her eyes. Suga gave her a lopsided smile, happy to be of use. 

“Fine, just please hurry back. I want all of us here just in case something happens.”

Suga helped Hinata stand giving Ukai a mock salute.

“You can count on me, Coach!”

* * *

“Do you know where we’re going?” Hinata asked, voice muffled by the handkerchief he was using to cover his nose.

Suga gave a strained smile. 

“Not exactly. I have a rough idea.”

“Suga-san we’ve been walking forever,” Hinata moaned. 

“Well it’s not like we’re going to be missing anything,” He snapped back.

Hinata fell silent, and Suga silently cursed himself. Hinata was friends with the giant setter, so he would be worried. Heck. Hinata would be worried about anyone. 

Suga did the first thing that came to his mind. He wrapped Hinata in one of his hugs. 

Hinata immediately pressed his face against Suga’s chest, relaxing into the hug. How on earth could a kid be this forgiving?

“I’m sorry,” Suga murmured, stroking Hinata’s baby soft hair, “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m sure your friend will be fine.”

“Really?”

Suga squeezed him tighter.

“Yes.”

Hinata pulled away, blood smeared all of his face and Suga’s shirt. The handkerchief lay forgotten on the floor.

“Sorry,” He mumbled, wiping his nose and smudging it worse.

“It’s fine,” Suga said, patting his head, “How about you wait here while I go find the ice?”

Hinata nodded and slid to the floor, eyes going blank.

“I’ll be right back,” Suga promised, turning away.

He ran down the hallway, scanning the door labels as he passed them.

“No, no, no,” He muttered aloud to himself, “I suppose it would be too much to ask to have an ice room.”

He stopped.

“Equipment room?” 

He shrugged. May as well.

He tried the door, finding it to be unlocked. He turned the knob, fumbling for the lights. 

With the lights finally on, Suga found himself staring at a boiler room. 

Sighing, he turned to leave before noticing someone else in the room.

“What are you doing here?” The man asked, voice cracking up an octave. 

“Inaba-Sensei?” Suga replied, even more shocked, “What are _you_ …”

His voice died off when his eyes landed on what his old teacher was clutching tightly in his hands. 

Suga’s mind went blank.

He was holding a bomb. 

* * *

“This isn’t supposed to be happening,” Inaba stammered, “I was supposed to be able to sneak in here unnoticed.”

“What are you doing?” Suga whispered, hands feeling colder than they did even before a big match. 

His old teacher snorted. 

“I’m pretty sure you can tell.”

Suga shook his head in disbelief.

“Why?”

His eyes met the other man’s pained but determined gaze. 

“There are some things you will understand when you’re older, Sugawara.” 

“Well try to explain,” Suga asked, taking a step back. He could open the door and run. He could grab Hinata and tell Sensei and Ukai and… 

“Somethings,” The man said, eyes gaining a desperate gleam, “are worth doing even the most despicable things for. Can you understand that?”

Suga did understand. He understood that the minute he left, his sensei would blow himself up. He grit his teeth. 

_What should I do?_

“What sort of things?” Suga challenged, deceptively calm. Was he insane? He was a high school student. How could he talk down a man who seemed intent on blowing himself up?

Inaba’s brow furrowed, and he opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by the sound of footsteps.

Suga moved on instinct, holding the door shut.

“Suga-san?” Hinata called, and Suga felt a rush of adrenaline. He could stall until Hinata was a safe distance. He could do that. 

“What’s going on?”

The man gripped the bomb tighter, finger shifted so that it was positioned over a button.

“Nothing,” Suga replied, voice steadied by the thundering pulse in his ears, “Hinata?”

“Yeah?”

“I need you to run back and tell Coach that there is a man in the boiler room” Suga took a breath, looking his sensei in the eye, "with a bomb.”

“What?” Hinata squeaked, “Suga-san are--”

“I’m fine,” Suga replied quickly, “We’re just talking. Go. Please” 

He heard Hinata’s steps slowly get softer and he could breathe again.

“Ok,” Suga said, turning his attention back to Inaba-Sensei, “Let’s talk through this.”

* * *

Hinata ran faster than he had ever run before in his life. His breaths came in short pants as blood continued to stream down his face. 

That didn’t matter. Nothing mattered right now besides the fact that he had to get to Coach _right now_.

He threw the door to the gym open, stopping for only a moment to spot Ukai-sensei kneeling next to Kogane who was talking to a paramedic.

His brain didn’t even process what was happening before his legs moved, flinging himself towards the group gathered in the center.

“Hinata?” Daichi asked, looking up, “What happened? Where’s ---”

“Coach,” Hinata panted, ignoring him, “Suga-san….boiler room...bomb”

“Slow down, Hinata,” Sensei said, taking him by the arm, “Here, sit.”

“No!” Hinata snapped, yanking his arm away, “Coach….Coach please….Suga…”

“Hinata, breathe,” Asahi said, looking about as panicked as Hinata felt.

“There’s a person with a bomb!” He finally managed.

Asahi recoiled like Hinata had slapped him.

“Hinata,” Ukai said, grabbing his shoulders, “Where?”

“Equipment room,” Hinata felt tears running down his face, “Please coach, Suga-san…”

“What about Suga?” Daichi asked, pulling Hinata roughly from Ukai’s tight grip, “Hinata _where is he?_ ”

“Equipment room,” Hinata repeated, heart racing, “Suga-san is with the bomb.”

* * *

“I don’t need to explain anything to you.”

“Please Sensei. If you’re going to blow yourself up, please just tell me why. Don’t I deserve that much?”

The man sighed. Finger moving away from the button.

“Why do you want to blow your---”

“I don’t,” He snapped, “Do you think I want to be doing this? I have to. If I do this, the man told me he would give me 500,000 US dollars!” 

His teacher took a step forward, eyes begging him to understand.

“This is the only way that I can be sure that my family will be taken care of!”

“What do you mean?” Suga asked, wondering where Hinata was now. “You have that job at--”

He barked out a laugh.

“Oh, that job? The one that threw me out after _25 years_ of service for a pair of dreamy eyes?”

Suga flinched. 

“Breathe,” He thought, “Try a new angle. Every second you spend talking with him is one that he isn’t pressing the button.”

“If you care so much about your family, how can you just blow yourself up? You’ll never be able to see them again.”

“Well, at least I’ll know that they’ll be financially taken care of.” He responded immediately. It seemed like he had already justified this.

“My little girl will finally have enough money to take ballet lessons,” A hint of a smile touched his face.

“Ok, you have a point,” Suga conceded, “But is this how you want her to remember you? As a man who blew up a school?”

Inaba’s eyes sharpened.

“I would rather have her remember me as a man who blew himself up to take care of his family than as some middle-aged librarian who was too weak to keep his job!”

“But you won’t just be blowing yourself up,” Suga said, taking a step closer to him, “You’ll be blowing me up as well.”

“The blast will only hurt people in this section of the building,” The man stammered, “You could just walk right out of here. I’ll make sure that you won’t get hurt.”

Suga gave him a sad smile. 

“You know that I won’t do that.”

This time his teacher flinched, grip slightly loosening. 

“Please,” Suga pleaded, “Just put the bomb down.”

* * *

“What do you mean you can’t do anything?” Ukai growled, glaring at the policeman in front of him, “My kid is in there right now with a man _who has a bomb_.”

Daichi stood behind him, hands clenched so tightly that they were nearly drawing blood. 

“Sir, I’m very sorry, but if we enter the situation now, we could trigger the----”

“I don’t care,” Ukai broke in, “We called you here to save him, so do your damn job and…”

Daichi closed his eyes. This was a dream. It had to be. He just needed to try hard enough, and he would wake up, lying in a cold sweat in his bedroom.

He opened his eyes when something touched his hand.

“Daichi,” Shimizu said, gently unclenching his hands, “Your hands.”

Daichi looked down, mind not processing the blood that he saw there. He hadn’t even felt it.

He looked away, eyes eventually straying back to the hallway completely blocked off by police vehicles and equipment.

His best friend was down that hallway. Daichi could have run and grabbed him in less than 5 minutes if he wanted to.

His hands tried to clench into fists again, but Shimizu stopped him.

“Daichi,” She said softly, “You need to calm down.”

“Calm down?” He repeated, shoulders shaking with hysterical laughter, “Calm down. Shimizu, Suga could be _blown to bits_ any minute!”

Shimizu flinched but kept her cool.

“Daichi, you need to calm down so that you can convince these policemen to go in there.” She said, calmly, “Suga needs our support from out here.”

Suga needed him.

That he could understand. He could do that.

He shook his head before turning to Ukai.

“Sir, I need you to calm down.”

“Calm down? I---”

“Coach,” Daichi said, gently pulling him to the side, “Let me talk to him.”

Ukai studied him, falling silent before storming off to where Shimizu was standing.

“Thank you, son.” The officer said, taking off his hat so that he could run his fingers through his hair.

“Why won’t you go in?” Daichi asked simply, “Why are you leaving Sugawara in there by himself with a man who has a _bomb_?”

The officer sighed.

“Look kid, I know it may seem like we’re not doing much, but we can’t go in.”

“Why?”

“This is an extremely delicate situation. One wrong move could cause a disaster.” 

“Suga can’t take him by himself,” Daichi stated, holding the officer’s gaze in his tearstained one. “If you don’t act, he’ll get…” His voice faltered, new tears flooding his eyes.

“Please,” Daichi begged, “My best friend is in there right now, and he needs your help. Please, don’t leave him behind.”

The police officer studied him, sighed, and put his hat back on.

“I’ll see what I can do, kid.”

* * *

The man looked at him with such sad eyes that tears formed in Suga’s eyes, but the sadness hardened into resolve.

“I’m so sorry Sugawara, but this is your last chance,” He said, tears flowing down his face, “Please, I’m begging you, just turn around and walk away.”

Suga saw some movement out of the corner of his eye. 

“Inaba-Sensei, it isn’t too late--”

“No,” He cut off, “I won’t listen to you. If you aren’t going to leave then I guess this is goodbye.”

Suga moved out of the way of the door which swung open. A whole squad of fully armed police officers burst in, catching his teacher off guard. 

“No, no, no!” Inaba thrashed in their grip, “Please, let me go!”

“Is that you kid?” A familiar face asked. “You seem to have a talent for getting into dangerous situations.”

“It’s nice to see you too, officer.”

* * *

“Suga-san!” Hinata cried, throwing himself into Suga’s open arms, bursting into tears.

“Oh thank the gods,” Suga said, still in the strange calm that had enveloped him after the police had taken Inaba-Sensei into custody, “You’re ok. Did you get the ice?”

Hinata nodded against his shirt.

“Are you ok, Suga-san?” Kageyama asked, seemingly unbothered.

Suga took one of his shaking hands in his and squeezed it. Kageyama turned away.

“Suga!” another cry caused him to release Kageyama’s hand and turn before being sandwiched between two more hugs.

He didn’t reply, his throat suddenly choked. He did, however, squeeze both Tanaka and Nishinoya tight against him. They were safe. All of them were safe, and he was too.

“Sugawara-senpai,” Noya finally said, “Please don’t do that again.”

Suga squeezed him tighter before looking up.

His eyes widened as another one of his teammates approached him, arms opened wide. 

Suga felt his very breath squeezed out of him as Asahi hugged him tightly. 

Suga wrapped his arms around Asahi’s massive frame, careful to include Hinata, Nishinoya, and Tanaka who were all still clinging to him. 

“Are you ok?” Yamaguchi asked, finally speaking up. 

Suga looked over Asahi’s bulk and lifted an arm invitingly.

Yamaguchi eagerly slipped into a free space in the hug. 

“Tsk,” Tsukki scoffed at him. Suga studied him, making sure their eyes met before giving him a gentle smile.

They would talk later, privately.

“Sugawara,” Sensei cried as Suga looked at him, arms already hopelessly full.

Sensei seemed to have a different idea though.

Suga heard a slap and felt his face sting. 

“Idiot!” Sensei yelled, “You are an idiot, Sugawara Koushi! I swear if you even _think_ about pulling this sort of stunt again I will _handcuff you to the nearest tree_.”

“I’m sorry, Sensei,” Suga replied, face burning.

Sensei sighed before joining the hug too, squeezing Suga tight.

“Ukai-kun, get in here” Sensei ordered, voice slightly muffled. 

Ukai sighed but obeyed, and Suga heard him mutter something that he couldn’t quite hear.

He gave him a puzzled look which caused Ukai to sigh and repeat himself.

“You scared them, boke.”

Suga smiled.

“Only them, huh?” He thought before squeezing the people in his arms tighter. He soon felt a pair of arms wrap around his back and a head press against his shoulder. 

Suga leaned his cheek against Daichi’s head.

“Calm down,” He murmured, “I’m fine.”

A faint smile touched Suga’s face.

“He didn’t blow me into Suga-stew.”

“Not funny,” Daichi replied, voice muffled by his shoulder. “Shut up.”

“Sorry.”

Suga stood there, surrounded by his team and felt his heart rate finally slow.

“Daichi,” He called softly. 

Daichi shifted his head slightly so that Suga could see his eyes, stained red with tears.

“Catch me?” He asked before going limp in his arms.

Later when he woke up in the hospital again, Suga would say that he didn’t remember anything past that, but he had a faint memory of a strong pair of arms carrying him, and a fainter memory of a soft voice whispering, “I’ll always catch you.”


End file.
